Rightways

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Malaysia's property market still growing strongly

Malaysia's
property market still has much room to grow and will benefit from the
high property prices in Singapore, said founder and principal trainer of
Singapore-based School of Infinite Potential, Kenny Tan (pix).

"Malaysia('s property market) still has much growth. The market here
is exciting and there is a lot of potential and resources. Malaysia can
become a really solid country with its hardworking people," he told SunBiz in an interview.

Tan, who is also ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd group division director
and a practising real estate agent, said property prices in Singapore
have driven buyers to Malaysia due to its closeness in terms of
proximity and culture.

"A lot of Singaporeans buy their second home or investment properties
here. There is a lot of interest here, especially in Iskandar Malaysia
(Johor). There is a lot of interest from Singaporeans, but we always
advise them to do research prior to investing," he said.

Tan said while Singapore's property market has gone through a few
rounds of corrections, property prices in Kuala Lumpur have been
constantly rising since 2004.

Although the issues in Europe and the US have resulted in expatriates
pulling out and weakening the rental market, there has been a good
influx of foreign interest from South Korea and Japan.

"There is still a lot of opportunities for real estate agents in this segment," he added.

Meanwhile, the cooling measures introduced by the Singapore
government has also helped attract interest to Malaysia, with Malaysian
property developers taking the opportunity to ramp up their marketing
efforts in Singapore.

However, there is still strong demand in Singapore's properties
despite the cooling measures, especially from Chinese investors, said
Tan.

"(It's just that Singaporean) investors are now taking their time to
buy instead of rushing in and chasing prices. There are still
transactions (in Singapore properties)," he added.

On property buying trends in Malaysia, Tan said it is moving towards online buying, selling and marketing.

"Technology provides convenience and productivity, one can search for
properties online at any time and anywhere. This is already happening
in Singapore and we foresee that happening in Kuala Lumpur over the next
two to three years.

"There is an evident trend that Malaysia is moving towards that
direction with the various online forums and property portals," he said.

Tan said going online means buyers can do research before viewing
properties or meeting up with agents, saving time and money. At the same
time, real estate agents know the calls they get are more likely to be
hot leads rather than cold calls.

"However, there is still a segment of buyers who still use newspapers
to search for properties. For example, the older generation and those
who are less internet-savvy.

"In Singapore, buyers who want to buy landed properties do not search
online. There is still a certain type of buyer who like traditional
media thus it is important to have both (mediums)," he added.